We argue that a firm’s suppliers and customers prefer it to account more conservatively
due to information asymmetry and these stakeholders’ asymmetric payoffs with respect
to the firm’s performance. We predict that a firm meets this demand for accounting
conservatism when suppliers or customers have bargaining advantages over it that enable
them to dictate terms of trade or whether trade occurs at all. We show that when a firm’s
suppliers or customers have greater bargaining power, the firm recognizes losses more
quickly. Our findings provide insights into how a firm’s powerful suppliers and customers
are associated with its accounting practices and also support the contracting explanation
for accounting conservatism.